1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to particular improvements in the methods and apparatus for playing a game with inclusion of enhanced interaction for preset sequences of random game outcomes.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In the United States legal and regulatory requirements provide that “the selection process to determine a casino game outcome must be random.” Randomness implies independent event outcomes that are distinct. In principle, in a random process, any particular outcome is unrelated to past or future outcomes. Nevertheless, insofar as preset sequences of random outcomes are, in themselves, also chance, this disclosure attempts to offer methods of enhanced interactivity on the part of the apparatus, either in the form of messages or payoffs for attributes of or pertaining to such sequences.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,102 discloses the multi-line pay lines in a slot machine displaying a plurality of symbols in a matrix of n rows and m columns of symbol positions. A game control has images displayed and pays if a predetermined combination of symbols is displayed. A predetermined arrangement of symbol positions includes one and only one symbol position in each column of the array. The display has symbols in 3 rows and 3, 4 or 5 columns.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,309 discloses a typical slot machine for bonusing with touch screen selectable elements. It is with the '102 patent incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof as at least that which skilled artisans would have known regarding how a slot machine is made and operates.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,642 has a game of chance in which a sequence consisting of a preset number of losses is used to yield a jackpot to the player. Unfortunately, '642 has changing the odds of winning or losing within the sequence. That approach would appear to violate the regulatory and/or legal requirements of jurisdictions in the United States. In an attempt to overcome that, '642 suggests that the player be required to wager on an entire sequence of games in advance, treating the entire sequence of games as “an event” to thereby accommodate the regulations. In practice that approach would be difficult to successfully market and/or commercialize as players seem to prefer maximum flexibility in their wagering. Under the approach of '642, a player would have to commit funds toward, e.g., 10 games worth of wagering before playing any of the games. As this is a major commitment, and could stand to result in considerable losses for the player, it is not preferred and thus problematic for players. Observation also indicates that many players prefer to modify their wagering on a game-by-game basis based on the results of previous game or few games.
Gaming machines in the United States have become increasingly complex. Players are demanding more interactivity with the casino games including slot machines with high interactivity such as those from Mikohn Gaming Corporation of Las Vegas, Nev. (e.g., Battleship, Ripley's Believe It or Not!). In those specific games, interaction has proved to be a very successful inclusion. There is a need to provide additional interactivity between a slot machine with a player.
Because, at its essence, gambling involves the wagering of money, followed by winning or losing money, it would be desirable to provide additional interactivity as a function of the player's short-term fortunes on a particular machine.
However, it is necessary for the casino games to conform to strict regulatory standards ensuring randomness in United States jurisdictions. This is unlike British “fruit machines” which proactively monitor coin-in and coin-out and adaptively modify odds, pay out, etc. to “force” the machine to a prescribed hold percentage. In GB 2,185,612A and GB 2,087,618A, for example, the adaptive logic approach is taught.
It is desirable for the player to maintain maximum flexibility in wagering. Enhanced interaction, as a part of the game without forcing the player to “pre-wager” on entire sequences of games so the player is able to wager as desired has not been disclosed.
Bonus games are now very popular. There is a need also to enhance interactivity within the bonus game. To date, bonus games are “canned” in the sense that a player entering a bonus round always experiences the same ordered series of events. This usually includes an introductory screen and/or music, rules of play, then play and a closing celebratory sequence, or variations thereof, etc. Indeed, many players now play slot machines primarily to get to the bonus games wherein, at no risk to the player, the bonus round necessarily provides the player with that winning monetary experience. Currently, players who quickly enter the same bonus round (e.g., within a few spins on the base game) may be disappointed and/or bored to see it, the exact “canned” routine presentation and play. The bonus game is more likely to become “stale” or predictable. There exists a need with players for variety to prevent the experience of the same bonus game having a plurality of occurrences within a short time. On the other hand, players who have not experienced a bonus round in quite some time (e.g., within a few hundred spins on the base game) may become disenchanted with the game as a whole. They are likely to stop playing after becoming frustrated. So a need exists to have incentive for players to continue to play a slot machine, who have not experienced a bonus in a fairly long time.
Other “parallel” bonuses (in which multiple spins are required to achieve the end result) monitor the player's wager and calculate the resulting award based on or relative to the total player's wager in the base game before entry to and for use in the bonus game. This has the deleterious effect of giving the player a small award. If successive bonus sequences occur in short order the bonus pay out would most likely be small.
In the Mikohn Gaming Corporation, of Las Vegas, assignee of this disclosure, slot machine “Battleship,” if the player within the bonus game successfully sinks all the enemy ships, an additional bonus game is awarded in which the player is assured of winning an additional prize. In the Atronic game “Sphinx,” if the player within the bonus game picks the correct sarcophagus, an additional bonus game is awarded in which the player is assured of winning an additional prize. In the IGT slot machine “Regis' Millions,” the Philbin character in the bonus game occasionally awards the player an additional prize. It is believed that in each of these games, the awarding of an additional prize within the bonus game is merely a self-contained function of the bonus game and not interaction based on preset sequences of random game outcomes.